Mesa Ranch

The quality of the steak at this place is as good as any place in Austin. The seasoning is perfect and the steaks cooked perfectly. For me, i always get the bone in ribeye, the wife always gets the fillet. What makes this place better than the other steak houses in austin are the side dishes. The corn in the husk is beautiful, the steak fries great, and the grilled asparagus the best i've ever had! Make RSVP for fri/sat nights.

Overall steaks here are better than Joe D's and J's, on par with III Forks and Flemings, just a cut below Ruth Chris - but in all cases the prices are better here. If i had the money, i'd go here every weekend.

Live music on Friday and Saturday nights.

For service, always ask for Kevin!

My wife and I go to mesa ranch for covktails every week ,they are great. They take good care of you and have great drinks

We don't eat steaks out often because I enjoy grilling them over pecan at home. But Mesa has always had a nice steak at a fair price. Our last trip may be our last trip. We had a friend along so it wasn't too bad that we had time to talk, but 10 minutes before getting our drink order, and another 15 minutes before getting them served was not acceptable. I told our waiter they had the slowest bartender in town. We ordered wine before our meal, and had almost finished eating before it showed up. My steak was cold - cooked perfectly, and nice meat, but would have been much better served right after cooking. The server never checked so I could complain. I think I know why it wasn't crowded on a Friday night. I wish the staff cared.

okay, first of all....I'm taking the time to write this positive review because it seems that when people have a good experience, they tell their friends. When people have a bad experience, the tell everyone (via the web) When reading other restaurant reviews, I feel that people too often seem to focus on the service, which I agree is a part of the overall experience, but when I read reviews...I want to hear about the FOOD! Not about some waiter that is probably not there anymore months or a year later! We just ate at Mesa Ranch and had a very delicious dinner. We ordered the seasoned chips, salsa and queso. The salsa was homemade and fresh. A little mild for my taste and maybe too much cilantro, but still good and fresh. The queso was very good....no complaints. I ordered the grilled pablano pepper with grilled shrimp and corn salsa. YUMMY. Although a warning...it is VERYspicy. And I like a lot of spice. The shrimp on it was grilled with tail-on and it was very tasty. I will get it again. The cesar salad that came with our meal (choice of house or cesar) was perfect. The greens were crisp and fresh, the dressing was the right amount and the cornbread croutons were a nice surprise (I would have liked to have seen a little more in our salad though) We ordered the 8 oz tenderloin with a side of hollandaise and added 6 grilled shrimp. The steak was top quality and like butter in your mouth. I will say that we ordered it 'medium" and it first came to us medium-rare. But those things don't bother me as long as the steak is yummy....and it was! Oh, on a side note, the bread and butter they brought out was great. Rolls and cactus shaped corn bread with flavored butter. I'm also a connoisseur of margaritas and they were tasty! I would suggest the frozen over the rocks though. We got there early and as we were leaving, the live music was starting, which apparently they have live music nightly. We will go back!

Mesa Ranch is now our favorite place for steaks. We don't have to hassle with valet parking downtown and the service and food are wonderful. Love the cactus cornbread, the dinner salads (esp the homemade dressings and croutons) and the quail appetizer, as well. The steaks are wonderfully seasoned and cooked to perfection. The homemade desserts are to die for. We have been to dinner twice and are taking our son (the steak critic) tonight. The singer/guitar players are better than those in a lot of Austin's well known honkeytonks. The wait and hostess staff have always been very friendly and attentive.
2 thumbs up to one of Austin's best kept secrets and local gem!